Did We Say Grace?

I wasn’t going to weigh in on this subject – The Duggar’s and their oldest son’s "fall from grace". But the subject just won’t go away. It’s all over Facebook, it’s in the mainstream news, the blogs are endless…it is simply everywhere.

I have never watched the Duggar’s show. I have never got caught up in what they do. I purposefully never “liked” them on Facebook. I did not want to show support for, or against them, one way or the other. In my opinion, they were an “accident waiting to happen”. I mean, come on! There is no way that you can claim you are Christian, have 19 kids while televising it all on reality TV; and then expect that people will just leave you alone.

For starters, I don’t like reality TV. Truthfully, I wish someone would tell me how reality TV is different than voyeurism. I have said that since the first reality show ever came out, to the chagrin of some! That sounds harsh I guess, and that is a big enough can of worms for another post. The simple truth is, in that scenario - 19 kids on television - something was bound to go awry. And that is exactly why I wanted to stay away from what the Duggar’s do.

Some have said the Duggar’s set themselves up for scrutiny when they accepted the role for reality TV. I agree with that. I feel like asking the parents, “Just WHAT did you expect?”

Yes, I have an opinion about what happened. And yes, I have an opinion about the way the Duggar’s are being treated. So like everyone else that has commented, let me start with: YES, IT WAS WRONG!  That’s the no-brainer. Now let me get to the icky-sticky, controversial stuff that prompted me to finally write.

One, it really, really irks me that this has turned political and people are using it for their own gain, or agenda. Governor Mike Huckabee was the first one I observed to come out with a statement in regard to the Duggar's. No big deal for me that he did. He is their friend. That’s what friends do.

But then there are those like Michael Reagan that have been relentless in their coverage of the Duggar’s sins. Mr. Reagan has been posting something derogatory about the Duggar’s almost every hour on Facebook!  For days!!! It started with a merciless attack on Mike Huckabee, because of the former governor’s support of the Duggar’s. I would have to assume Mr. Reagan doesn’t like Mr. Huckabee. But it got “over the top” quickly with Mr. Reagan. It seemed more like he had a vicious vendetta against Mike Huckabee! Finally it got so bad, I was starting to wonder about Mr. Reagan’s mental health. Turns out Michael Reagan was raped as a child by a molester who also took photos of him. Yeah…bitterness remains.

Two: We are Christians, they are Christians. There is a lot of finger-pointing and stone throwing from not only the secular world, but from some Christians. And this is where I really get fried. Christians brag (yes, I said brag) constantly, about how Jesus can change lives. We love to shout it from the roof tops; and well we should! But it seems like we, in fact, only believe that profound truth at the surface. I mean really, if we TRULY believed Jesus changes lives, wouldn’t we be a little less quick to throw stones at Josh Duggar, today? There are those that believe he SHOULD lose his job…I’m not going there…he lost it. They believe he should still be punished 13 years after the fact. When the truth is, the statutes of limitations in most states doesn't allow for that. And in Arkansas, where this took place, the statutes of limitations has indeed ran out! But what really gets me, is that Josh was 14 years old! Maybe he wasn’t even saved yet! But we don't seem to want to accept that we could now have before us a man changed by the Blood of Jesus. He has demonstrated that he is a changed man. There have been no more incidents. He is a family man, (with a beautiful wife and three children) who worked at a Christian organization for the benefit of our society. He has proven everything there is to prove for someone who has been changed by the Blood of Jesus. But we won’t accept it. We are hypocrites. We don’t really believe God can change a child molester.

Further, we don’t even know exactly what was done. We have only heard he “touched” five girls. Some would call that “gossip”. I don’t know. It is only gossip when it goes outside the realm of truth, in my opinion. Further gossip depends on the intent of the heart. While what he did is very wrong, we really don’t know to what extent. How much is the media blowing this up because it is a Christian family? This is anyone’s with a liberal agenda dream story!! They finally have a "gotcha!!”; gossip or not.

Now, I am definitely not saying that there should be no consequences. There already have been consequences. And I am not saying that I don’t believe in justice. Of course I do!! Ironically, when a loved one of mine was killed in a car wreck due to dangerous and CARELESS driving by two individuals, people were quick to tell me I needed to forgive. I quickly tried to explain to these people each and every time, “Forgiveness does not negate justice and the desire to seek that end!” We forgive because we are commanded to in Scripture, but we must seek justice! “Justice” is what makes our society work and it is “justice” that keeps us safe. I wanted quick and appropriate justice for the two men that killed my loved one! Some people didn’t like that. Sometimes it is so easy to tell someone about the perceived log in their eye.

But this situation with Josh Duggar is clearly different. It was 13 years ago that the Duggar incident took place. The statues of limitations has run out. Josh, himself, was a child. Clearly, there is an age of accountability in Biblical precepts. Maybe Josh had reached that age when these crimes occurred; but regardless, a 14 year old does not think like an adult. And even if an “age of accountability” had been reached, that does not repudiate the fact, that clearly Josh has shown he is a changed man...changed by the Blood of Jesus.

One of the bloggers that I read, listed ten facts of which he said we all should agree. He accurately pointed out the difference between justice and forgiveness, as well as the difference between crime and sin. But this blogger, in his well-thought out analysis, neglected to mention the fact that you cannot try and convict someone for a crime that was well over a decade ago, and long past all statutes of limitations. Neither did he mention that Jesus changes who people are when we accept Him into our lives. These two stark facts left his article incomplete and partially incorrect in its message. But certainly there are consequences for every action and there have been huge consequences for this family.

Steps were taken at the time, to rectify the situation. The family did what they needed to do. Any steps taken for justice should have been done at that time. It is wrong to seek it now.

As of now, Josh has followed through with all the correct procedures; he made a public statement of apology; he stepped down from his position in the Christian ministry; he admitted he was wrong. He claimed the Blood of Jesus, long before his sin - his crime - was recently exposed! The truth is, this is in the news, because it was a Christian family to whom it happened. It is in the news because it is a family that has stood for moral issues. It is in the news because it benefits a liberal agenda. Believe me, if Josh didn’t work for the Family Research Council or any other political equivalent, this story would have gone nowhere, or at least remained in Arkansas. One of the other bloggers I read correctly pointed out the distinct difference in the reporting and the societal acceptance in this situation as opposed to a circumstance that recently occurred with a liberal actress. Anything goes, unless you are a Christian.

That is as it should be, I guess. We should live to a higher standard. But the sad thing to me is, once again, some in the Christian community are right there with the world to fling their arrows at the one who is wounded.

Now as soon as I write about a position that seems to be in support of Josh Duggar, the other shoe will drop and something more will come out. This is exactly why I hesitated to write. But this post isn’t really about Josh Duggar. It is about the hypocrisy in the Christian community in regard to whether we really believe Jesus is in the business of changing lives.

Christian, we are once again buying and promoting the liberal, left agenda, when we attack the Duggar's because 1. We won’t offer the grace we ourselves have received.  And 2. We seem to love to shoot our wounded and then we dine on the juiciest portion. Or maybe it's that we simply need to work on believing what we say we believe. The truth will eventually be exposed in any case. Justice is always served. In this case, it has been served on a liberal platter. Did we say Grace?

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” ~ Isaiah 1:18

 

Over the Edge?

So about The Edgy Truth website…yeah, it’s come up a few times via sharing on Facebook and email. This website is one that many people love to share and cite “information”.

But wait a minute. Let’s take a look at this site. Can we believe them? Are they trustworthy? For starters, nothing is ever resourced or foot noted. Well now, that’s a red flag, wouldn’t you say? There is no author, EVER, noted in any of their articles. It is almost impossible to find out just who is behind The Edgy Truth. The best I could do is find out who the Domain name the Edgy Truth is registered to. http://www.behinddomain.com/www/edgytruth.com 

The server that is used is Go Daddy and the name is registered to a man by the name of Jamie Albano. A Google search of Jamie reveals he is a family man whose business is creating and maintaining websites. It looks like he has a very successful business. Now, just because he is listed as the registrant, does not mean he is behind the politics and writings of the Edgy Truth. He may be listed as the registrant only because he designed the site. Perhaps someone wanted to remain anonymous and asked Jamie to keep the registration in his name. Having created a few websites myself, I know that would certainly be easier and quite likely. Jamie Albano certainly doesn’t take credit for any of the information contained on the site. No one does.

Mr. Albano’s business website apparently is internetchum.com, but there is no mention of the Edgy Truth there and certainly no mention of Albano’s politics. It is my opinion, he is simply the hired and paid builder/maintainer of the Edgy Truth website.

Shouldn’t the anonymity of the Edgy Truth make us wonder?? It certainly makes me wonder. And further, there is a lengthy disclaimer on the Edgy Truth’s site. Let me quote a part of that disclaimer which should concern us all – or at least give us another “red flag”: 

 “…we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website and related social media pages, or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website and related social media pages for any purpose.”

Someone is certainly protecting themselves from any repercussions of false, or inaccurate stories. Yes, disclaimers are sometimes warranted, but this one seems to go over the top in its warnings for a site that claims to be a “Truth Information Resource” site.

And while the disclaimer mentions its staff, founders and contributors, one would be hard-pressed to find out exactly who these staffers/contributors are. I tried. I could find no names on the site at all. And upon trying a google search, I found little information about the site’s beginnings. Please let me know if you do. I could certainly delve into a conspiracy theory all my own on these important missing facts.

I for one, do not like blindly accepting information from a site that has become this popular without knowing who is behind it. Why would I believe them? At the very least, they could foot note their facts which would lead me somewhere to prove what they say. But that just isn’t the case. There are a few links to other sites within certain articles on Edgy Truth. But guess what? The links that I followed all led to radical anti-government, conspiracy filled websites that also do not and cannot back up their facts.

Why would we believe the Edgy Truth? For some, it is because it fits what they already believe, or want to believe. For others, it is about promoting an agenda they seek to fulfill. Many are being led astray because they are not thinking things through or verifying what they read. They follow blindly accepting whomever it is behind the articles they are taking to heart. And that is dangerous.

I hate to think where all of this could take us. Seems to me it leads us down a dangerous path that gets us nowhere near to truth; but rather, over the edge of disclaimers and swallowed up in misrepresentations and maybe even outright lies.

 

Now I certainly haven't read every article on the Edgy Truth site. I have come across many I have questioned. We need to be cautious wherever we are reading! There are some sites out there that claim to be a "satirical site" thereby getting away with writing out and out lies that readers believe as truth. The authors of such sites know few people will read their "satirical" claim and instead will simply believe what has been written in their article which is supposedly filled with satire. But people believe it as truth!! The sad thing is they get away with swaying public opinion with their deception.

 

Other sites will publish an article they know is not true just to get traffic to their site. They simply have to print a retraction later which in turn gets more traffic to their site! Why are we so careless in what we believe?!

 

With an internet full of "information", trickery, and fool-hardiness on just about any topic one could imagine, we all need to be careful and check facts before we blindly follow.

But Still...

I am not going to be popular with this post. That’s ok - I think - I’m already not popular.

I watched a video the other day that I could NOT get out of my thoughts. Being still on my mind this morning, I decided to write about it.

As I watched the video the first time, my spirit was grieved. That is the only way I know how to put it. I sensed an incompleteness; a senselessness; almost an irrationality as I watched. And yet, it is a moving video with an important, compelling message. I can understand the heart from which it was created. It is beautiful. It is Biblical…well almost.
 

Dare I say anything negative about it? Dare I criticize something with such righteous intentions? I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t. But silence in the face of error? That isn't right, either.

The video will stir the hardest of hearts. I couldn’t help believing that every Christian should get behind this beautiful attempt to witness to those of the Muslim faith. Instead I cringed and I almost feel like I need to apologize for that. But still…

For starters, this video is full of contextualization. The most apparent case being the fact that they equate Jesus with Isa al Masih. Now to those without understanding, Isa is supposedly the equivalent of Jesus to members of Islam. But to the Muslim, that is far from the truth. The Muslims have great disdain for Jesus. They make no correlation between Jesus and Isa, whom they revere.

The Muslim’s Isa is not believed to be the Son of God according to those of that faith. He is simply a messenger for Muhammad, who is also inferior to Muhammad. I cringed as I saw the comparison in the video. It sickened me, much as Rick Warren’s prayer in the name of Jesus, and Isa, at the inauguration of President Obama sickened me. Contextualization is not the answer. (I have written about this before.) I don’t think Jesus would be happy with the comparison. Trying to make the two “faiths” somehow equal is simply not rational.

Secondly, those of the Muslim faith are not our brothers. And there is no place in Scripture that tells us this is the case. I couldn't help but think what the Jews, as well as Christians in Muslim nations, who suffer daily at the hands of evil jihadists would think if they see this wicked people referred to as 'brothers". It simply is not Biblical. They are our enemies. Love your enemy, yes; but we are not to embrace them, or adapt for them.

Finally, the captions are boldly in English, with the message written in the Arab language shown in much smaller script below. I had to ask myself; “Who is this message really created to reach?” Muslims? Or Americans? I think the answer is obvious. It was created to change the hearts and minds of Americans in an attempt to change the way our nation deals with those of this religion - actually political ideology. Just love them in. No need for war.

“The People of the Cross come to die at your gates”; “If you won’t hear our message with words, then we will show you with our lives, laid down.”

Really? Is this message any different than that of the Muslim jihadist? The jihadist who displays an irrational desire to die in a "holy war" that will lead them to the Promised Land and 72 virgins. God doesn’t call us to die! He calls us to live and he calls us to life!

It all sounds so holy and so very righteous though, doesn't it? To be willing to die for our faith?  And we should!!  When necessary! But dying at the feet of our enemy isn’t what we are called to do, or to actively seek as this video implies. Yes, we should be willing to be martyrs if we are called to that place, but we certainly are not to actively seek it! That is what the jihadists do!

Am I wrong to think it is going to take more than bringing the Gospel to wipe out ISIS? Yes, it is the Christians’ responsibility to bring the Gospel to these people. But it is the responsibility of our Christian nation’s government to bring justice upon them! There is a time for war!

So my spirit was grieved. Big deal some might say. However, it caused me to investigate further. I researched the creator of the video, Michael Chang who only says he is non-denominational in his theology. But I found an interview on One Peter Five , (a Catholic website whose goal is to restore and rebuild Catholic culture and tradition), where the video was first posted which led to the viral attention. Once again, I was not surprised to see Chang is of the younger generation that cannot be interviewed without getting in an attack on the American Dream? For crying out loud!! Why is that??? Oh, and he doesn’t like the term “conversion”. Now there is an evil term if I ever saw one. God help us! It always seems to be the same with the new Christianity that is permeating our society, today. And for whatever reason, I seem to be able to pick up on it in an instant and I can't keep quiet, thereby always getting myself in trouble...with some...

I can't help but believe those who do this are all a part of a movement (most of them unwittingly) that seeks to diminish the United States. This movement is going to lead to a movement that will not support Israel. It is a movement that will end up (and already has in some instances) supporting the Palestinians, (Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Iran, etc.) instead of Israel. (In fact, the pope just made a statement that the Vatican will officially recognize Palestinian Statehood. This is exactly why we found the video on a Catholic website, in my opinion.) It is a movement that will never support a strong, national defense for America. They are much too holy for that. It is a movement that will lead us to Zechariah 14:2. Every nation will turn against Israel. And that is why I cringe.

But still, I was glad I had researched the creator of this video! Below is the crucial missing piece that I so longed to hear. Michael Chang does finally reveal in this  interview an extremely important truth. It is the answer I am always looking for, and I was glad to see he at least included it somewhere. We are not all called to the same thing!!

Chang was asked in this interview if the video might fall short in its message. The truth of the matter is the message in his video does fall far short and that fact is critical. Why? Because the majority of people are only going to see the video and not what Chang states further. There is an extremely important misconception that is already propagated within the viral video. He has the opportunity to correct the problem in this interview and he does a fairly good job at making the distinction. But how many will see the latter statement? How many will miss this essential truth? I have included the excerpt from the interview here, because I believe it is so important.

1P5:  What do you say to those who believe that this message falls short? To those who want to take arms and protect the innocent Christians being persecuted by ISIS? Martyrdom offers a powerful witness, but it is also a great evil on the side of those doing the killing. Is it truly right to do nothing? Should Christians not stand up and defend themselves?

MC: This message does fall short. To try to send a comprehensive, all encompassing message to ISIS all under four minutes is impossible. God has so much more to say to them. And he will find a way. Should we fight back and defend ourselves? If you’re called to be a witness for Christ and to be a missionary to these people then lay your weapons down and love them to the death. But if you’re called, lets say to the US Army and you’re sent to fight ISIS, then submit to the authority of your country and fight. Be faithful to what you’re called to. Ecclesiastes 3:8 says there is a time for everything…a time of love, and a time to hate, a time for war, and a time for peace. God values life. Governments were created to preserve life. Sometimes in order to preserve life, governments have to go in and wage war.

Thank God Chang said this somewhere, but I’m afraid it is dangerously too little, too late. The video is going to be the main message that permeates our society; especially our youth....and probably while ISIS simply laughs.

But still, we must witness! We must! But I pray, only in truth.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:

For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. ~Romans 13:1-4